Foundry Kelowna

Really lovely to have such a great free accessible place in Kelowna for youth. The drop in is really helpful, because people don't plan when they have crisises/when they need support. All the drop in counsellors have been super helpful, calming, reassuring, and kind. It feels like the counsellors for drop in here truly care. I also like how you fill in an electronic form before each session to share how you are doing, because sometimes it's hard to open up about tricky topics! The psychiatrist nurse I saw here a few years ago really helped connect me to sufficient resources for my mental health!

The foundry will set you up with a random college psych student who will ask u surface level questions and then next time you go you meet a completely new college student who just asks u all those things again.i appreciate the effort to make free resources for youth but a lot more work and organization has to be done is you want to actually be a therapy service.they also offer a psychiatrist who will give you medication and never follow up.the only things that might be good are the free medical clinic and the group therapy's as ive never tried either.bc child and youth mental health is a lot better if your looking for a professional therapy.

So many people recommended foundry to me without any knowledge of how bad it actually is! Stop recommending the foundry to a teenager going through it please know they do not offer continuous therapy with the same person, you get a new person every time! It was definitely not for me, I couldn’t build any trust let alone feel heard at all: (they also use counsellors in training / psych students, so they basically ask the same generic questions every time, and sometimes they use two way mirror/window rooms so students can study your session? Which I understand I guess, and I agreed to it I just found it made me really uncomfortable! Doctors there also prescribe medication without much knowledge or background information then do not follow up adequately, I get that they are not psychiatrists, but they couldn’t even refer me to one when I asked. I appreciate that the foundry was created with the intention of bringing free mental health care to youth but it needs a lot of work to be able to effectively offer the resources it advertises, if you are looking for somewhere to start try CYMH!

Edit: I will not be contacting you because I ended up aging out of this program before they made any actions to help me. I’m not going to waste any more time on this place that is only considerate when in the public eye.

I hate this place with everything in me. You guys are no help.

This facility is supposed to be aimed at helping individuals and their families struggling with mental health. I have gone to the Foundry and I was turned away without assistance on four occasions. I was told before the foundry opened that there would be a team of specialists to talk to individuals for risk assessment, treatment plan, etc, and I have never seen or heard of this kind of service being available after the doors opened. The foundry is a glorified counselling office with no focus on anything other than preteen general anxiety.

I have been calling for 2 weeks to make an appointment with my doctor to refill my prescription and nobody has answered.they dont even have a voicemail anymore and i have been out of medication for 4 days now.this is awful and its extremely frustrating.

Foundry Kelowna has extremely limited access to resources, especially in comparison to what it claims to, or by what is thought to be offered generally as an extension of the foundry network, or by other healthcare workers in Kelowna. They offer a variety of 'workshops' and 'online zoom community meetings' that claim to help, and have started a bus to provide better outreach to Westbank.

But these services are never mentioned to those who call or enter the clinic. Getting any information, or doing something as simple as booking an appointment is extremely stressful for new users as unnecessary barriers are consistent. Eg) Having to call to book an appt, rather than booking online, or, leaving a message only to be ignored, or, the complicated online messaging system rather than simply using text or email. Or, the pervasive feeling of discrimination users feel for being mentally ill or disabled.in a place people are being treated for such things.

Right now, according to many users it seems that service is provided at discretion of how 'liked' you are by those at the clinic, rather than based on need/risk level. At best, they offer limited drop-in counselling, and their doctor/NP access is worse than a walk-in clinic (usually a month wait at least for an appointment, upto 2-4 months for a doctor). Also, they are situated right up the road to McGuire Psychological services.but seemingly never work with them or refer individuals to them even when they ask for help in that realm. Another note is that they offer group counselling services, but good luck getting in even after repeated attempts and even it being a suggested method of treatment by their own healthcare workers. Despite, their efforts it's extremely hard for their users-vulnerable teenagers and young adults- to access any meaningful treatment.

To the Foundry itself, it's great you guys want to work on outreach! But please remember, there's no point in reaching out if you can't even provide timely and adequate support to clients directly trying to get help through the clinic. We need more consistent therapy, access to doctors/NPs, and adequate communication and outreach of staff within the clinic itself.

As a thought experiment for those at Foundry:
What good is a workshop on disordered eating when it takes 2 months just to get that client to see a doctor for a bloodwork referal? What happens when they fail to connect them with a nutritionist and a therapist who can actually help them treat it properly? What happens when that person attends 1 workshop, and has no other follow up care? What happens when they face ableism in your clinic? What happens when their phone call is lost in the voice-mail system, or they are told they don't actually need the resources they think they need? That they just need to fix it themselves with a "better attitude".

What happens is that person continues suffering with their mental/physical issues, and has less trust to access you as a viable resource. This person receives inadequate care and you have failed your mission.

"We believe young people should have a voice in their care and that finding the right support shouldn’t be difficult. "

"We are committed to working with our partners to change lives, communities and our systems, because young people are our future. "

Do better, the kids working with you often don't have a choice. You guys should be aiding kids rather than adding to the stigma of getting help.

The Foundry has helped me as a parent to learn a way to navigate the challenges and pathways towards a new relationship with my son. Thank you Rich!

Most amazing place ever. The staff are so friendly and great there is even an off staff dog who is the MOST friendly loving dog ever. I was happy from the moment I stepped in the door. I made an appointment one day and came in the very next day to speak with a nurse practitioner who helped me with absolutely everything. Went above and beyond to get everything I needed done. This place is incredible and they have so many resources for youth available. I would highly reccomend this place to any youth in need of any sort of help

One of the receptionists is really mean and rude. I got hurt by her so many times. Foundry should deal with the issue.

Worst experience!
It is a blessing to have the services available to support the youth, however the front desk staff are insulting, condescending and make it an uncomfortable and demeaning processes for the kids and parents!

For a place that is supposed to create big impact on the confidence and self esteem of kids- it is terrible that the 3 female front desk staff members, destroy the opportunity of what could be an amazing situation for the youth.

My experiences have been negative & left me feeling Seriously insulted by the shameful behaviour, words and actions of these women.

No one should not have to sit in the waiting room listening to their judgements, opinions and mocking of youth that are coming in for help.

Many other complaints have been mentioned in the reviews about these women! It’s TIME for something to be done about their behaviour!

If business and community are fundraising to create this opportunity for youth, the implementation of positive, friendly, educated staff needs to be a priority.

I was at the Foundry in Kelowna today at 3: 30 pm on September 10th 2019. The front desk blonde long hair woman is very rude I tried many time to get help but she is always very rude I left in tears because of her speaking to me very rudely and she didn’t wanted to even listen to me. So terrible for a place where you should be nice and kind why is this person working there if she has such a rude attitude. Very disappointed

Thank God for Foundry they are amazing and have been very helpful in every possible way. They should have places like this for support in every town. My daughter attends a support group there every week and they have really made a positive difference in her life. Thankyou to all of the staff at foundry Kelowna for being so great!

In my own experience and those of my loved ones, the people working front desk perhaps need a refresher in how to interact with individuals who may be in crisis or a similar sensitive situation. My significant other was turned away and dismissed when he tried to obtain information to get help for his own mental health, and I witnessed the same thing happen to others on more than one occasion when I sought help for my own struggles.

For a facility claiming to be geared towards helping youth who fall into the cracks in the system, they don't seem to be living up to their claims. Very disappointing.

Very disappointed with the services at Foundry. I was turned away by the woman at the front desk after trying to get some help. Even after having a doctors note, I still was unable to recieve the support and help I need. I left in tears frustrated and feeling worst than when I walked in. Mental health is no joke and not something to be taken lightly. There are people out there that need support and help, and all they get is someone turning them away. If I was feeling suicidal that definitely would have done it for me. This is not the support they advertised, and it is very difficult and a long process to just be seen. The most they will do is send you to mental health which will send you back to foundry if you’re underage. It’s all very frustrating and discouraging. Take mental health seriously and stop treating people like they are just another number. These thoughts and feelings are very real and countless people try to deal with them on their own without proper support.